Born in Dublin in 1946, Ruairi Quinn qualified as an architect before standing for election in 1973. He has had a number of high-profile positions in various cabinets (Minister of Labour 1984-87, Minister of Finance 1994-97) and was Leader of the Labour Party from 1997 to 2002.
He has three children. Malachi and Sine from his first marriage and Conan from his second.